Friday was a dedicated free day for everyone up in Köln. The bus left the hotel a little after ten and deposited us by the Hauptbahnhof, just across from the Dom. The entire day would be free for us to shop and explore at our own pace, with the only restriction that we have our phones charged and on, and that we meet the group back here at precisely four o’clock. Six whole hours in the big city by ourselves? There was so much damage we could do.

The gang and I set off at a brisk pace towards the city center. We all still had a decent amount of money on us and intentions to do some serious damage to the city’s shops. Alex might have been reserved, but this place was not safe now that Holly Winters was around, that’s for sure.

“I wanna go back to that Pimke place,” Tina enthused as we walked along Hohe Straße, one of the pedestrianized streets of the city center. “They had this awesome leather mini I wanted to get while my Mom can’t see it.”

“My Mom never lets me get anything like that,” Sarah sighed. “She’s always obsessed with my skirts being down to my knees.”

“So don’t tell her, dur,” Chloe offered helpfully. “We should all get one, we could wear them out sometime when we’re back home!”

“We do need to do something together to mark the trip though,” Tina pointed out. “Not excluding the skirt idea, mind.”

“We could get our nails done?” Emma offered. “There’s a place up ahead; we could all get matching acrylics.”

We all looked at each other and grinned like sharks. Our plot decided, we headed for the nail boutique. It was as Emma had indicated, just up ahead nestled between a hair salon and, of all things, a GameGo. Those things really do get everywhere, don’t they? We managed to convince the receptionist of our desires and were led to a row of stations to get our talons touched.

I was especially excited and nervous to be included in the bonding ritual. This was, as you well know, my first ever time getting my nails done. Hell, I hadn’t even been to a hair salon as myself yet. Despite my general comfort in appearing female to all, I did feel a little self-conscious entering such a female space. I half expected one of the ladies to point and scream, but instead, she said nothing at all.

Now don’t believe just because we’re teenage girls that we went utterly insane and got three-inch talons attached to our fingers. As we are in Europe, we chose a rather sensible five-millimeter extension that worked out to about a quarter inch past our fingertips.

As a group, we decided on a rather festive and Christmassy design to befit the season. Each nail was a different combination of glittery red and white polish including presents, snowflakes, and tiny little Christmas trees. Honestly, I’ve never loved my nails so much in my life.

The whole process took about an hour in the end between multiple rounds of drying and the artwork itself. We chatted, laughed, and had a blast as friends. It was a moment in my life that I will never forget; I felt normal.

Before we left, one of the technicians helped us to take a photograph of our five hands in a circle. The photograph shows five identical hands with pretty festive nails in a circle above the sparking white tile floor of the boutique. All five hands are delicate and beautiful with stunning nails, we were all the same. I still have a copy of that photo framed in my house to this day.

The five girls that returned to the street were giggling and laughing and having the times of our lives. At that moment, I was able to forget that I was different. It felt liberating in ways I struggle to describe even now.

“What next?” Emma asked as we wandered along the street.

“Ooh, what’s that?”

I turned to look at what Tina was pointing at and was confronted with a huge shop window full of mannequins in their undies.

“Hunkemöller? Kinda looks like Victoria’s Secret.” Chloe mused, eyeing the shop. “Wanna?”

“Yeah,” Tina nodded. “We got plenty of time, why not?”

I’m pretty positive that stores like this the world over are used to the whirlwinds that are gangs of teenage girls. We descended on that particular fashion emporium like a plague of locusts did upon Egypt; nothing was safe.

I have shopped for underwear before, but I had never experienced anything like this. It was giggly and silly and not a touch raunchy. We were teenagers; we were exploring who we were and how we related to our bodies and our sexualities. Shops like this, times like this were so very precious to me in later years.

“Oh, these are pretty saucy,” Emma giggled, holding a pair of extremely tiny lacy panties in front of herself. “I should indulge.”

“Your Mom will kill you if she finds those in the wash.” Chloe grinned. “Remember when she found that G-string?”

“God, I thought I was going to die. Ezra heard and he went on about it for a month.”

“Ezra?” I asked uncertainly.

“My little brother,” she explained. “The little twerp is like eleven.”

“The smaller the underwear, the less weight it takes up in your luggage. That means you can buy more,” Sarah pointed out. The look the girls exchanged would make you think they just solved world hunger with that revelation.

“You should try this on,” Tina offered, dangling a bra in front of me. “You’re what? Thirty-four?”

“Thirty-two B,” I corrected. “I think that’s a seventy?”

She hands me the relevant garment and gestures towards the changing rooms. “Go on, try it on.”

I eye the bra suspiciously, “This looks a little racy, Tina.”

The grin is something I expected to see on a cheetah, or a shark right before it bites into an innocent unsuspecting victim. “I know.”

I rolled my eyes and made my way through to the changing rooms at the rear of the store. Once securely within my little cube, I examined the diaphanous device that Tina had given me. The bra was a balconette pushup bra in a deep crimson trimmed with lace. I had to admit it; Tina had pretty good taste.

I slipped off my upper clothing and removed my own bra. Well, it was one of Chloe’s and it wasn’t a perfect fit, but it was doing the job better than the sports bras I had brought with me. I slipped into the new bra and fastened it in the back. I’ve never understood why so many people in trans fiction put them on backward and spin them around, it was never particularly hard for me to do. With a little adjusting of the girls, I stepped back to regard myself in the mirror.

Oh dear.

The girl looking back at me had a seriously weapons-grade set of tits on her. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m no Covewatch Beauty running around in her red one-piece with a set of massive floatation devices, but I looked far more stacked than I thought possible. I was sporting decent honest to god cleavage that would make any boy drool.

There was a knock at the changing room door. “You decent?”

I unlatched the door and peered through the gap, “Yep, why?”

Tina shoved the door open and slid inside.

“Hey, watch it,” I squeaked, covering my chest.

“Pft, don’t be a baby, let's see.”

I rolled my eyes and lowered my hands to rest on my hips. “Satisfied?”

“Jeeesus girl, those things will take someone’s eye out.”

“I don’t think it’s that bad,” I protested, looking back at the mirror. “Is it?”

“Oh, it’s bad,” she agreed, appearing past my shoulder. “In a good way.”

She vanished for a second and I heard feverish texting. A moment later there was another knock at the door.

“Do you want to invite the whole store in here?” I complained as she unlatched the cubicle and opened the door.

“Don’t be dramatic,” she dismissed, “we need other opinions.”

Obviously, as there’s no room for five girls to fit into a single changing room in most clothing stores, I ended up standing just outside the cubicle in the main changing area in my jeans and bra. Dignified right?

“God damn, you have got to buy that,” Chloe enthused.

Emma shook her head in disbelief, “I have no idea how anyone could have possibly seen you as a boy. Damn, I’m actually jealous.”

“Right?” Sarah agreed. “Imagine if those boys yesterday that were being dickheads saw her now? They’d be on the floor drooling.”

Yeah, I turned bright red.

“Awww look at her blushing!” Chloe giggled.

“Shut up,” I grumbled, retreating back into my hiding place and closing the door.

I changed back into my borrowed bra and redressed before coming back out to join the peanut gallery.

“So? You not getting it?” Tina prompted.

I stopped walking and looked at her like she was insane. “Of course, I’m getting it, and three more to match. This thing is a weapon.”

 

 

There are a ton of cool places in a city like Köln, but there are also a ton that are really not that special. From M&H to ShoeLocker and the Rans store, there was a LOT of American influence even here in Germany. It was safe to say that we skipped most of them as we can visit them any time we like back home.

“Why exactly are we eating Italian food when we’re here in Germany?” Sarah asked as we were seated at a little restaurant just off Brückenstraße.

“Because I don’t want to eat another damn sausage,” Tina asserted, sliding into the booth.

We all had a couple of shopping bags, myself a rather well-stuffed one from Hunkemöller. In the end, I got three matching sets with that weapons-grade Büstenhalter and a few more casual options. At least this way, I was now wearing my own well-fitting bra rather than a loaner.

“I don’t mind,” I shrugged. “Food is food and I’m starving.”

“What can I get for you, ladies?”

“One large chicken veggie, five chicken salads, and five cokes please,” Chloe answered, handing the man our menus.

“Not a problem,” he smiled, collecting our menus. “Ten minutes, ok?”

“I’ve had a really good time,” Emma offered. “I’m kinda sad that we’re going home tomorrow.”

“No kidding,” I sigh. “I feel like I only just got to start enjoying myself.”

“How are you going to handle things once we get back?” Chloe asked.

I shrugged, “I really have no idea. I didn't think that far ahead.”

Sarah frowns, “They can’t make you go back with the boys, can they? That would be insane; they couldn’t behave themselves with a girl around, and they can’t make you go back to being a… God, I can’t even say it, it just sounds wrong,” she made a face. “I can’t even picture you as that anymore.”

“How’d you think I felt on that first day at the airport?” Tina chuckled. “I’ve known this bitch for months, thinking she went to a different school. We always met at the Gym on Wednesday afternoons so I didn’t put much thought into it. Who knew that all this time she had been pulling the biggest switcheroo ever.”

“I did pee my pants a little when you recognized me,” I admitted with a sheepish grin. “I’m still sorry for lying to you.”

Tina waved her hand dismissively, “Pft, no big. I never asked and it was funny as hell to see your face when you recognized me.”

Our drinks arrived, interrupting our conversation for a moment. After the Kellner beat a hasty retreat, Sarah spoke up.

“So, what happened? When you first spotted her?”

Tina grinned and shook her head. “Oh man, it was good. Girl here was trying her hardest to do boy; you all remember from the start of the week, right?”

The others nodded their agreement and I sank down in my seat out of embarrassment. “So, I was just minding my own business waiting for Sarah to find her passport that she had managed to lose in the three minutes since she put it back in her bag and I spot this grungy-looking girl. At first, I’m not paying her any attention because I really didn’t care at that time of the morning. Then, she turns and I get this profile shot and I swear to god, I’m like Holly, wait, she doesn’t go to our school… why is she here? Coincidence?”

“I mind my own business and then she pulled out her passport and answered Frau Whistler, the boys' teacher. I recognized the voice instantly and knew sure as hell she wasn’t in our class…”

“Yeah, I suck at keeping secrets,” I sigh. “This semester has been a bit of a shitshow.”

“I can only imagine, baby girl.” Tina chuckled as our food arrived.

You know what? It might not be German cuisine, but it smelled pretty darn good all the same.

We all tucked into our lunch and the conversation flowed freely. It wasn’t about me, it wasn’t about gender, it was just five girlfriends enjoying their time together. Here we were, in a foreign country, getting lunch by ourselves, enjoying our new pretty nails, and feeling like the most sophisticated and mature young ladies you can imagine.

It was the first time that I really considered that; one day, we would all be real adult women. I might not have been born like my friends, but I was doing what I could to learn and to play catch up. We were experiencing these moments together and I could see that same trepidation and shy experimentation as we all found our place in society.

Sure, it was just shopping and sharing lunch on a day out, but it still felt pretty special to us. Here we were, seeing the sights and living life to its fullest. Every one of those girls at that table was working out how she fit into the world. Chloe, Emma, Sarah, Tina, or Holly, it didn’t matter where she started, she was on a journey to her fullest.

 

 

After lunch, we descended on the fashion emporia of Köln like meth’d-up raccoons out for their next dumpster dive. Oh, you think I’m exaggerating? Try shopping with a gang of teenage girls with spending money and no adult supervision; it is nothing like trans-fiction tends to portray. Honestly, it’s impressive how much of a swath we can cut through a population center when we try.

From shoe shops to clothing boutiques, we left no stone unturned in our quest for the cutest, most perfect, items. Few were actually bought, after all, we’re on teenage budgets and our suitcases have to make the flight back, but we made an impressive effort nonetheless.

We were finally in Pimke after that elusive leather mini. Naturally, we’re going to get there the long way, via every other isle and garment.

“Do you think this will work on me?” Chloe mused, holding a peach babydoll against herself.

“I think you need something darker,” I opine. “It kinda washes you out. Try the green instead.”

She picks up one of the other colors and poses in front of the mirror, her smile broadening as she sees the difference. “Good call, girl.”

“Eh, I can do color,” I shrug. “Style I’m still working on.”

“You seem to do ok so far,” she offers with a smile.

“Not hard with limited options.”

“We’ve got to go shopping when we get home,” she grins. “We’re friends for good now.”

We exchanged a little smile and I felt a happy little squiggle.

“Hey Hol, come try this on!”

The smile became a shared eye roll as Tina bowled in with the aforementioned leather mini.

“You’ve got to try this on, we can all get them!”

“I’ll try it on,” I conceded, “But it might be a bit much.”

“Nah,” she shook her head. “It’s perfect, we can all roll up on the first day of school in them.”

“Not a chance,” Chloe stepped in, vetoing the idea immediately. “It’s cold, even back home in Cali and we will get dresscoded before we can enter the damn building.”

“We can at least wear them to dinner tonight…” Tina frowned sadly.

You know how Tina is tiny and adorable, right? Yeah, it’s really hard to say no to tiny and adorable doing the sad routine.

“Fine,” I sighed, snatching the skirt out of her hands. “I’ll try it on, but you’re going to complain.”

“Why would I complain?”

“Because I have better legs than you.”

“Why you bitch!”

Pissed-off Tina is a lot like an angry cat with mittens over its claws… sure, it’s trying to shiv you, but it’s really more cute than effective. I’m kidding, she wasn’t really trying to kill me. I’d get to see her scrap later in my school career and she’s a fearsome little devil.

I scampered off to the changing rooms with a top I was already planning on trying and set about changing. Honestly, the leather mini needed a bit more than the t-shirt I was wearing to really sell the look.

I have to explain this to you because this outfit was truly something special. The skirt that Tina had been coveting was truly a work of art. It was a black pleated mini with a double stack belt that crossed over in the center with big silver buckles; It was seriously cute with a capital C. The top I was wearing with it was a white sparkly strappy number that contrasted nicely.

The size on the skirt Tina had picked was pretty spot on, although I had a little room to play with. If you’ve ever worn leather, you’ll know that’s pretty much a necessity. The top reached down just far enough to leave a few inches of bare tummy between the two garments.

“Are you done in there?” Tina demanded, knocking impatiently on the door.

“Yeah yeah, hang on,” I sighed. Turning back and forth in the mirror, I examined myself. I was shocked to find that I looked… fantastic. For once in my life I was genuinely impressed with what I was looking at.

Unlatching the door, I swung it open and stepped out into the main changing area with more confidence than I knew I possessed. A bit like the lingerie place, this store had a long corridor with changing booths branching off and a big mirror at the end. Tina was waiting outside when I stepped out and I am not exaggerating when I tell you that her jaw hit the floor.

“Holy, fucking, shit.”

“It’s not bad,” I conceded with a smile. “I can’t believe this is me.”

“Not bad?” she gawped, “Girl you have to buy that… it would be a crime not to.”

“Let's see!” Chloe stepped out of her own cubicle wearing the very same skirt. She looked incredible, her long lean dancer’s body really setting off the skirt to maximum effect. She turned to me and her eyes widened as much as her grin. “Girl, that is weapons-grade,” she nodded approvingly.

“You’ve got to buy that outfit,” Tina insisted. “Fuck next semester, we’re wearing these tonight.”

“Isn’t that a bit much?” I frown, admiring my reflection in the mirror.

“Yeah, but it will make an impression,” she giggled.

Emma and Sarah came out of their changing rooms wearing their matching skirts. “We’re in,” Emma grinned.

Oh dear, this is not going to end well…

 

 

Have you ever heard the expression, “She bit off more than she could chew?” There’s a picture of me right next to it, but you’ve made it this far through the book, so, do you actually expect any less?

“I don’t know guys, this feels like it’s going to backfire spectacularly.”

“Pft, quiet, this is a fantastic idea,” Sarah muttered as she did my eyeliner.

All five of us were in Tina and Sarah’s room getting ready for the evening’s stupidity. As you can well imagine, things had gotten monumentally out of control. The skirt idea had spiraled into an entire scheme involving stealing the limelight at the evening’s departure dinner and last night’s ‘party.’ I hadn’t mentioned that, had I?

The final night of the trip would culminate in a party after dinner in the hotel bar. It would be a private affair with music, drinks (sadly non-alcoholic) and snacks. If I had still been Alex, chances are I would have skipped the entire thing. The problem was that I wasn’t Alex… not to anyone. And I was now part of said scheme.

If you were imagining that our plan for the skirts was just to match for dinner and get some cute photographs, then you would have been dead wrong. The truth was that the initial idea had spiraled into the scheme, nay, conspiracy, to dress up like a gang of teenage harlots and try to outskank the Köln red light district.

“Herr Norton is going to explode when he sees us,” Chloe giggled, adjusting her shoes. “How much are you betting we get told to change?”

“We’re wearing decent clothes and there is no official school dress code,” Tina pointed out. “In theory, nothing we are doing is particularly bad.”

“Of course, she’s the dress code expert,” Emma smirked. “I’m betting more boys explode than teachers.”

I’ll admit it, I blushed.

So you’re dying to know what I’m wearing, aren’t you? I know you know I have the black leather mini and the white sparkly top. This is coupled with a pair of strappy black heels with a ten-centimeter heel. I think that’s four inches in Freedom Fractions. My hair is flowing over my shoulders in loose waves thanks to Chloe’s curling iron and I’m wearing my little snowflake necklace and a borrowed bracelet from Tina.

My makeup, which Sarah is currently finishing, is what one would safely describe as an evening look. Smokey eyes, striking blush, and a bold red lip. With my pale skin, it’s a pretty sharp pop. Right now she’s curling my lashes and applying far too much mascara.

During our hunting trip, I did pick up a few items of makeup for myself; I wasn’t willing to wear more borrowed stuff, especially eye makeup as it’s unhygienic. Between that, the clothes, shoes, and nails, I was feeling rather poor.

“Take a look,” Sarah grinned, recapping the mascara and standing up.

I stepped cautiously over to the mirror, rather aware of how likely I was to snap my ankles in these daft stilts I was now wearing. The girl looking back at me was a knockout and I was struggling to believe that she was actually me.

Now, you know I’ve been living as Holly outside school for months already, and I’m rather decent with makeup, but Sarah is honestly a mistress of the art. I certainly wasn’t the only recipient of her work either tonight as she was already getting to work on Tina.

“Holy shit,” I breathed, playing with a few strands of hair. “Not bad.”

“Great canvas,” she replied, not looking away from her war paint conveyor belt she had going.

Chloe stepped over and nodded approvingly. Her mini was coupled with a black sequined tank that really offset her gorgeous blonde hair. “Not bad at all girly.”

“Isn’t this a tad too much?” I frowned, trying to tug my top down to cover more tummy, all the while exposing more breast than I was comfortable with.

“Yup, of course it’s too much,” she grinned. “We’ll get a bit of a dressing down from the teachers, probably, but the boys won’t be able to keep their eyes off us. It’s going to be great.”

“There’s going to be more erections than a crane factory,” snickered Emma.

My eyes went wide and I blushed crimson. This, however, only served to amuse the pair of them greatly.

“Aw, Holly’s embarrassed by big throbbing dicks,” Chloe chuckled, wiggling a finger at me.

Somehow, my redness level managed to increase to a new higher setting. “Um, I…”

“Poor girl is far too innocent,” Emma added, “be kind.”

“No, she needs to know what she’s going to cause tonight,” Chloe points out, walking over and adjusting my top. “She is going to make a lot of boys horny and a lot of girls insanely jealous.”

I grimaced at the idea, “I really don’t want to make anyone mad or horny.”

Chloe waved her hand dismissively, “You won’t be doing anything that we won’t. You’re going to have to get used to the fact that you’re attractive, girl; haters gonna hate.”

I made a face and pulled my top back up to where it was exposing less of my breasts. “You’re not the one trying to get the other girls to accept you as one of them and the boys to not beat the shit out of you.”

Chloe’s expression changed and she gave me a supportive squeeze. “Girl, anyone who sees you knows that you’re obviously a girl. Any chick that has a problem tonight is just jealous that you’re hotter than she is. Honestly? Get used to it. Remember you’re dating on the football team; that’s going to make you a target regardless. The social strata of high school demand it.”

“I still don’t feel comfortable acting like I have social credit I haven’t earned yet.”

Tina snorted from the far side of the room where she was doing her hair. “No boy is going to call you a faggot after he sees you tonight, you have my word. They’ll be too busy adding you to their spank bank.”

Did I ever take the time to explain that girls are just as bad as boys? So, one of the things I learned during this time in my life was that my impression of girls as innocent and creatures of virtue and purity was incredibly wrong. Girls are just as bad, if not worse than boys at times. Take it from someone who has experienced the intimate conversations of both genders; girls are filthy sexpests when they want to be.

I turned back to the mirror and gave myself a long hard look. I like to think I looked cute, maybe, if I was stretching it, kinda pretty. For someone who has hated their appearance for so long, it was a challenge to accept.

I had to trust that my friends wouldn’t steer me wrong. I was learning and they had the experience to know what was ok, and what wasn’t. Was I worried that people would judge me more than the others? Of course. The truth was, I still felt like I had to earn the respect of the other girls before I could even begin to express my femininity this freely. Honestly, a large part of it was the dregs of boy world clinging to my mind.

I had every right, and I damn it, I was going to have fun.

Fifteen minutes later, I was in the elevator with the rest of the gang. My earlier prediction that we were going to look like a hooker’s convention was pretty accurate in the circumstances. In such a confined space, the multitude of perfumes and scents clashed like a mosh pit in a beauty parlor.

I won’t lie, I was pretty nervous. Dressing in jeans and a nice top around my classmates had been terrifying enough and it was only yesterday that boys had treated me pretty badly. Now, here I was dressing like I had a right to feel good about my body. It was a lot of brain worms to overcome if I’m honest.

The elevator arrived at the ground floor and we stepped out to face our future. Right as I did so, one of the stupid stilts I was wearing caught on the edge of the carpet. I let out a squeak of shock. Apparently it was my new shorthand for ‘look out, oh shit, help, and ‘Did I mention that I hate these shoes?’ I was being quite efficient.

Hearing my exclamation, Chloe turned just in time to catch me by the shoulders. “Woah girl,” she grinned. “The boys are meant to fall for you, not the other way around.”

“These things are going to cripple me before any of them can see me,” I grimace, crouching as delicately as possible to rub a sore ankle. In these skirts, that was a really careful process, believe me.

Chloe rolled her eyes and offered me a hand to stand up again. “Price of beauty, baby girl. It’s the price of beauty.”

“Does it take plastic?”

Humor was, as always, my great defensive mechanism to suit all situations. The truth was, I was really nervous about the whole enterprise now that it was happening. Expressing myself as female was tough enough, but now actively doing so in a way that was intentionally sexy and alluring? This was new territory for me.

Technically, there was nothing lewd about our outfits and the clothes were covering far more flesh than I really express in these pages. We had managed to hit teen hot, and certainly not adult hot. Nobody was getting arrested for public indecency, even if I know for a fact that Rob and Dad would have an aneurysm if they saw us. Mom? I was pretty sure I would be shipped off to a convent.

I caught my reflection in a mirror along the edge of the lobby as we passed. Rick on the other hand… Rick, I would need to question pretty extensively about his opinion on this critical matter. I’m sure he could provide extensive feedback to help me reach a satisfactory conclusion.

God, what am I turning into?

I did my best to hide my nerves as we stepped out into the hotel lobby and made our way confidently towards the restaurant. Every hint of bravery I had felt upstairs in the room had long since melted away like a penguin in a sauna. The only thing that kept me walking was the other four girls around me who were dressed exactly the same. Why the hell did I agree to this stupidity?

Naturally, the first person that spotted us was Frau Whistler. She was just inside the entrance to the restaurant on a phone call as we passed. As you can imagine, that phone call ended rather swiftly.

“Ladies, a moment, please.”

Tina smiled sweetly, which at her size is actually pretty endearing. “What’s wrong Frau Whistler?”

Our teacher wasn’t even close to buying her shit. “Christine Booth, you can put the sweetness routine back in your holster, and the same goes for the rest of you.”

Was I hiding in the back? You bet your bottom dollar that I was.

“What’s wrong, miss?” Chloe asked innocently.

Frau Whistler pursed her lip and gave us a good hard look. “Isn’t this a little summery for this time of year?”

“It is rather warm in the hotel, miss,” Chloe grinned. “We just wanted to look nice for the last night.”

Frau Whistler smirked in a way that suggested she knew exactly what Chloe meant. “Uh-huh, I see. Well, I had better not see anything go further than this, do I make myself abundantly clear?”

“Of course Frau Whistler,” Chloe beamed innocently, clasping her hands demurely. “We wouldn’t dream of it.”

Right at the last moment, her eyes connected with mine and she paused. “Miss Winters?”

“Yes, Miss?”

“Pull your skirt down please.”

I hadn’t noticed it riding up and I pulled it back into place rather hurriedly. God, this was mortifying.

She looked us over and sighed dramatically. “Go on, get on with you. I don’t want to hear any reports of bad behavior, and you know exactly what I mean, girls.”

Wow, my first dressing down as a girl, and it had to be for dressing like a whore. What a precedent to set eh?

Suitably chastised, we vanished before she could change her mind.

Much to my delight, there were already a fair few of our classmates in the restaurant as we headed for our table. To say that we draw people’s attention was a slight understatement; with all five of us dressed to the nines? Yeah, they were paying attention, especially the boys.

This was the first time that I had ever dressed to deliberately attract male attention. Sure, it wasn’t all my idea, but I was getting carried along on the wave of teen girl shenanigans. To tell the truth, I was feeling pretty terrified behind the mask.

These people all knew who I was; Holly or Alex, I was the same person and they knew my origins. To express myself so femininely and so deliberately was uncomfortable. Sure, it would get easier, but this first time had me terrified that all of a sudden people would point and laugh at the idiot girl with the gorgeous friends.

“I don’t know if this was smart,” I mutter to Emma while keeping my expression polite and neutral.

“Shut up, they’re all watching,” she replied, the casual smile not leaving her face. “

Our usual table was on the far side of the room and along one of the windows. Normally that wasn’t much of a bother, but today it meant walking past basically everyone. Thankfully, most people just watched, and that was bad enough. Some of them however felt the need to comment less than subtly.

“God, I could wear those thighs like earmuffs.”

I could almost feel the steam pouring out of my ears. We had just passed a table with a group of boys seated at it when I heard one of them utter the above to his buddies.

“Ignore it, girl, it’s a compliment… kinda.” Emma offered under her breath. “Just don’t react or it makes it worse for everyone.”

“How do you put up with this?” I replied, starting to master the smile ventriloquy.

“I’ll make more money than all of them one day,” she shrugs gently. “Let them look, but if they touch I’ll break their fingers.”

You know what? Fuck it. If she can do it, so can I. Momma didn’t raise no bitch.

I remembered Kara and Megan’s heels masterclass and pulled myself up on my imaginary string. Ass and tits out, head held high, and walk. Did I feel like a strategically shaved monkey in lipstick and a miniskirt? Absolutely, but that monkey had sass.

More than one table of boys was watching us as we crossed the restaurant. If I imagined them as a pack of baboons in a cage at the zoo, it was a lot easier to pass without feeling like prey. Maybe someone needs to invent high heels that have built-in cattle prods? Much, much safer.

We finally reached our table and took our seats and in these skirts that took a care. Taking my cue from the others, I did a little sit and swivel with my legs together like a proper lady.

“If looks could suntan I’d be golden brown,” Sarah chuckled, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

Tina shot a look at one boy who was looking particularly brave. He was starting to stand up, clearly encouraged by his friends. He seemed to shrivel back into his place as her eyes drilled into his soul. “They’re particularly brave tonight.”

“I feel like meat,” I complained, tugging my skirt down my thighs.

“Don’t be a baby, we didn’t raise no bitch,” Tina quipped, sipping at her water like she didn’t have the mouth of a sailor.

“Be gentle, she’s still a fawn,” Chloe grinned. “We are dropping her in at expert level; we’ve had a few years of practice.”

“This gets easier?” I query, still feeling eyes on the back of my neck.

“Sure it does,” she shrugged. “You notice it, but you also aim for it. You know boys talk amongst boys as much as we do and it’s all part of the big game.”

“Learning on the fly is a little scary,” I admit.

Emma leans over and gives me a side hug. “Ah, you’ll get the hang in no time. Cutie like you? You’ll learn to ignore them or you’ll spend the rest of your life in a convent.”

I blew a lock of hair out of my face and made a face. “They really think they’re being subtle, don’t they? God, boys are weird.”

“Now you get it.” Tina grinned. “Now once more with feeling.”

This evening’s menu was a little more special than the typical offerings that we have been enjoying all week. Not that the foot has been bad, far from it. It was good wholesome food, but it was much more akin to our lunch at school; nice, but meant for filling a hole in hungry teenagers.

Tonight however it seemed as though they had stepped things up a little for our last evening of the trip. Sure, it wasn’t earning any awards, but it was certainly having a decent go. Perhaps dressing up had been worth it after all?

Our appetizer that evening was a bowl of rather tasty French onion soup, rather ironic for Germany. Once that had been seen off, the Entrées arrived; Rinderroulade with boiled new potatoes, red cabbage, and carrots.

“What’s this thing again?” Tina asked skeptically, poking at her plate.

“Rinderroulade;” Chloe offered. “It’s bacon and onions wrapped in strips of beef.”

“Kinda like a beef burrito?” Tina asked.

Chloe cringed, “I’m impressed, I think you just insulted French, German, and Spanish cuisine.”

“I am not a chef,” Tina shrugged.

“I think operation: Hottie is working pretty well,” Emma offered, sipping her water. “I’ve seen most of the boys’ tables looking over here.”

“Probably at me,” I sighed.

“Oh, absolutely,” she giggled. “But not for the reason that you think.”

I rolled my eyes, “It’s not like they’ve forgotten. I’m still the same person.”

“If any of them can call you a boy or a fag with a straight face tonight, then they’re certifiably insane,” Sarah declared, squeezing my leg. “They’ll be too busy drooling all over themselves.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I admitted. “What happens after they get horny then remember and beat the fuck out of me?”

“Then I’ma beat them the fuck back,” Tina declared. “I may need a ladder, but I’ll do it, I swear!”

The idea of our pint-sized pixie fighting anyone set the entire table in giggles.

 

 

Before you get any wild ideas, our little ‘last night party’ was a rather gentle affair. It seems that Germans and Americans have very different ideas of what constitutes a party, especially where teenagers are involved. With our teachers present, it wasn’t ever going to get very far out of hand.

Things had been going pretty well so far. Boys had been staring at us, but nobody was being weird about things so we were at a bit of a truce. I had a sneaking suspicion that a few people had received the toenail pliers treatment from the teachers last night, so everyone was on their best behavior.

It was my turn to get a ‘round’ from the bar for everyone; calm down, it was just soda. Unfortunately despite German law and culture, we were banned from participating by our jailers. Either way, we were having our little make-believe that we were sophisticated adult ladies with our mixed drinks all the same. What can I say? We were kids.

I was leaning on a stool, waiting for the bartender to return with my drinks when I felt a presence behind me. I turned and came face to face with Kevin Patterson. You remember that particular specimen of single-cell American manhood, right?

“I don’t want any trouble Kevin,” I pointed out dryly. “If you’ve got anything smart to say, just save it.”

Kevin looked at me and I watched his eyes descend the length of my body before returning back up to my face… after a pause. Yup, I felt pretty unclean after that one.

“I uh, no trouble,” he mumbled. “Just getting a drink.”

I eyed him suspiciously and turned back toward the bar. The worst part was that I still felt his eyes roaming up and down me.

“How do you look like that?”

Oh dear, biology for fucking idiots.

I took a deep calming breath and turned back to face the idiot. “Like what?”

I once again received the long, obvious look up and down my body while his brain worked, and I was starting to run out of patience. I crossed my arms and fixed him with an irritated look. “Are you quite done?”

“Huh?”

I sighed and smiled sarcastically. “You’re the one that approached me and started asking questions, Kevin.”

“How do you have…”

“Hey, thanks for waiting for me.”

Mcpardon.

I turned around and spotted one of the boys from class. I’m pretty sure his name was Tom, but he wasn’t someone that I knew particularly well. Then again, I wasn’t exactly the social butterfly, was I?

“I’m uh… yeah.” Kevin shuffled awkwardly for a moment before disappearing down the bar to bother someone else.
“Holly, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” I admit, somewhat skeptically. “Uh, thanks.”

“He looked like he was bothering you, so I figured I’d come to say hi, I’m Tom.” he offered, extending a hand.

All systems, high alert.

Tom was about six feet tall and had sandy brown hair. He had a kind face and an easy smile that made him pretty attractive, I was surprised to realize. He was giving me space and he was only looking at my face, so he was already ten points up on the recently departed dipshit.

“Thanks,” I accepted his handshake tentatively and a little weakly. “I was just getting some drinks for my friends and Kevin kinda… appeared.”

Tom nodded and smiled, “Yeah, you didn’t look best pleased with him so I figured I’d spare you from him.”

An observant boy… what a novelty.

“You had a good trip?” I asked, unsure as to what to say to the guy.

“Pretty good,” he grinned. “It’s been eventful.”

“Yeah, you could say that,” I smiled nervously, averting my eyes. “Uh, sorry.”

Tom shrugged and smirked. Somehow, I felt at ease; that he was laughing with me, and not at me. It certainly made a change.

“I saw you had a Blitzkrieg Flop shirt, right? You into them?”

Why is he asking me about music… this feels strange.

I nodded and smiled, “Yeah; kinda into that whole skate punk thing, I guess.”

“Nice,” he grinned. “I love that stuff. Even more new shit like Thing42 or Wink183.”

He was being way too nice to me, given the circumstances. It felt far too normal; something had to be off. I crossed my arms and hesitated for a moment. “You know who I am, right?”

Tom nodded, “I know who you are Holly; I sat behind you in class all semester. Why?”

I felt a little silly and uncertain all of a sudden. “Sorry, you were just being so…”

“Normal?”

I nodded and blushed.

“Do I have to be an a-hole?”

“No,” I conceded. “It’s just… it’s been a weird few days.”

Tom shrugged, “You seem like you’ve had enough assholes for one week. I figured I’d be nice.”

I let my shoulders sag and smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry, I’m a little defensive.”

“Yeah, I would be too,” he admitted. “But I wouldn’t look half as good doing it.”

Ok, sure, I blushed. “Um, thanks.”

“Here, let me get those,” he offered, grabbing the three remaining drinks on the bar. “Your friends are back that way right?” he gestured with one of the drinks.

Tom walked me back to the table where the rest of the gang were chatting to a few other girls who had arrived.

“Ladies,” Tom smiled, setting the drinks down on the table before he turned back to me and gave me a wink. “Catch you around, Holly.”

With that, he turned and walked away back towards the bar. After watching him go for a moment, I slipped into my seat and took a long pull of my drink thoughtfully. “That was a little weird.”

“You two looked cozy,” Emma offered, “What was all that about?”

“He stepped in when Kevin Paterson was about to catch a slap,” I admitted.

Cleo, one of the girls from the other day grinned. “He looked like he was hitting on you. He’s a dish, you go girl.”

“Isn’t he dating Kelsey Harris?” her friend Hannah asked. “They’re in a band, right?”

That’s where I recognized him from; he plays bass…

I frown. “He wasn’t hitting on me; we were just talking. Can’t a guy just be nice? Anyway, he knows exactly who I am.”

Cleo’s friend Hannah grinned playfully. “Looking like that? Girl, you’re going to make them forget.”

“I have a boyfriend, I’m happy, thanks.”
Cleo blinked, “Wait, you do? That was fast! Who is he?”

“She’s been a girl longer than this week, dummkopf.” Tina chuckles. She grins at me and wiggles an eyebrow, “You want me to tell her?”

I rolled my eyes, “Be my guest.”

Tina’s grin broadened into that of a hyena and she turned to the others theatrically. “This girl here has magic freaking powers: Despite pretending to be a boy at school, she managed to hook a hottie. She had him so hot and bothered that the poor boy was having an identity crisis until she told him she was really a girl.”

“Tina, come on…” I blushed.

Why did I think this was a good idea?

“I’m just getting to the good bit,” she grinned. “Lil Miss Undercover managed to snag not just a hottie, not just an athlete, one of the stars of the football team, the twenty-four; Rick Taylor.”

“No way,” Cleo breathed, “seriously?”

I sighed, “Yes, seriously.”

“Girl, he’s hot as hell, I think I hate you,” Hannah shook her head. “How’d you manage that?”

I sighed, “I was trying to avoid it; I didn’t want to date anyone until I got out of school and could be myself… but like many things, the world conspired against me.”

“What does he… about… you know?” Cleo asked cautiously.

“Like Tina said, I explained. “I was trying to avoid dating anyone and I just wanted to keep a low profile but… we became friends and… I guess we both started to develop feelings. I was trying to pretend to be Alex, to hold on long enough to transfer. I guess he saw more of Holly than I wanted to let slip. One thing led to another and it turned out he was developing feelings for me.”

“Yeah, his heart saw a girl and his eyes were apparently shut,” Tina giggled.

“Something like that,” I admitted.

Cleo smiled, “That’s super sweet. Do you miss him?”

I thought about Rick, five thousand miles away back home. I thought about talking to him on the phone this week and just how excited I was to see him again. Just how excited I was to kiss him, to be held, and to be loved. I thought about what our future would hold…

Cleo grinned. “Oh yeah, you miss him alright.”

I sipped my drink and felt content with the world. “I really do.”

 

Comments are the lifeblood of authors. Please leave a comment with your thoughts/feelings and I'll answer! Let me know what you think!